One of the best parts of the holiday season is the joy of giving gifts to friends and loved ones. For kids, this often means lots of new toys. But there are other gifts that kids can enjoy and that can also teach valuable skills. By thoughtfully gifting this holiday season, you can offer the children on your gift list valuable lessons along with hours of fun. Here are some ideas.
Puzzle books
Much like building blocks, puzzle books provide lots of options for fun and games in a small, inexpensive package. You can find collections of puzzles that range from Sudoku to mazes to brain teasers of all kinds. And they come in different levels for kids and adults of all ages. You can give simple connect-the-dots books to very young children, or more challenging puzzles and logic problems to older children. The beauty of these books is that one book can contain dozens of different puzzles to occupy a curious mind.
3-D Puzzles
Everyone loves a good jigsaw puzzle. But if you want to provide a more interesting challenge, 3-D puzzles provide a great opportunity to practice spatial reasoning skills in a fun and exciting way. The classic example of a 3-D puzzle is the Rubic’s Cube. Though most of us will never quite master this old-school puzzle, there are lots of new spins on the concept that offer varying levels of difficulty. You can buy 3-D puzzles with just a few pieces, or more complex ones that have to be completely disassembled and put back together. Either way, these new-age puzzles are a stimulating and challenging upgrade to the beloved classic.
Music Lessons
This one is a little less conventional but very versatile. Is there an instrument your child would like to learn to play? If you have a son who wants to play guitar or a daughter who’d like to play drums, music lessons are an excellent investment. Learning to play an instrument has all sorts of benefits for brain development to reasoning skills. Furthermore, learning a new skill can open up all sorts of future opportunities. If someday your son or daughter wants to join the school band or even start a band of their own, they’ll be well on their way to mastering the skills they need.
Book series
A great way to encourage reading is to introduce your children to a book series they can invest in and follow for a long time. Whether it’s a young adult drama, science fiction, fantasy, or mystery, a good series can hold a reader’s attention for years. This ensures that your young reader will always have something they’re looking forward to reading. Then, as they wait for the next installment of their favorite series, you can introduce them to similar options to keep them occupied. This is how finding a good series can pay off with a love of reading that lasts for years.
Of course, there are lots of other educational gifts that you can give the children in your life. If you know a child interested in science, microscopes, and telescopes are great gifts. Perhaps you know a young person who loves to dance and would appreciate dance lessons. The possibilities are endless. The trick is to think beyond the usual list of toys and gadgets to give something that will genuinely enhance the lives of a child in the months and years to come.
